(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cotton bale storage. A cotton warehouse man is one having ordinary skill in this art.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Cotton is grown by cotton farmers. Different farmers may produce from 50 to 5,000 bales per year. The first step of moving the cotton to a cotton mill is to gin the cotton. After the lint is cleaned and removed from the seed, it is then compressed into bales which are basically rectangular cross sections, i.e., a rectangular prism. The bales normally will be wrapped in a fabric and tied with bands. Each bale will weigh about 500 pounds and have dimensions of about 20".times.30".times.54".
From the cotton gin, the bales of cotton are normally transported to a storage area customarily called a compress because in previous times, the bales of cotton were compressed at the compress to a smaller dimension than at the gin. The bales are stored at the compress, perhaps later moved to another warehouse, and eventually moved to the mills where the bales are broke open and the cotton is spun into yarn and woven into cloth. For many years, there would be a rather large supply of cotton at each location. i.e., at the cotton gin, the compress, the warehouse, and the mill. Because of the danger of fire and because of damage by weather deterioration, there is no baled cotton regularly stored at cotton gins at the present time.
In an effort to minimize expenses the mills attempt to carry as little inventory as possible. This minimum inventory is achieved by advanced accounting methods which include use of computers, so that the mills can anticipate with greater accuracy their usage of the cotton. Therefore, they depend upon transportation to have the cotton delivered to the mills as short of time as possible before its use.
Another factor involved with the movement of the cotton from the cotton gin to the mill is the great variety between bales of cotton. There are about 14 different grades which are based upon the color and trash content of the cotton. In addition to the grade, there are at least 8 staple lengths that are commonly used in commerce.
In addition to about 14 different grades and 8 different staples, cotton is also characterized by the fiber strength which is generally measured by the diameter of the fibers, commonly called the Micronaire. There are at least 4 categories by which this fiber strength might be commonly specified. i.e., any bale of cotton might be designated by each of the above into one of 448 different categories.
Of course, there may not be over 100 of these categories that are in sufficient volume to rate normal handling in the movement of the cotton from the gin to the mill. However, the cotton produced by any one cotton farmer might include bales in any of 10 or 20 different categories. Normally the mill will order cotton in lots of 100, basically in three or four closely related categories. Therefore, it is necessary, somewhere between the farm and the mill that there be certain concentrations of cotton.
Normally the person who concentrates the cotton (e.g., at the cotton compress) will not be the owner of the cotton. The cotton owner being either the cotton farmer, a cooperative of cotton farmers, the government through different farm programs, or individual cotton merchants who buy and sell cotton. The warehouse or compress will generally own none of the cotton it stores. Therefore, it is necessary that the warehouse be able to deliver bales of cotton which are owned by other people upon their orders when it is to be moved to another location.
While the cotton is in the custody of the warehouse, the warehouse must protect it against damage. The principal perils which they must guard against are fire for a total loss of the cotton or mildew or other damages resulting from prolonged moisture on the cotton. Therefore, the cotton is normally kept in warehouses having roofs to protect the cotton from weather and having elaborate fire precautions in the form of sprinkler systems.
The cost of warehousing cotton is expensive. The initial cost of the buildings and the sprinkler system and the piping and the like for these sprinkler systems are expensive. In addition, the buildings normally used to enclose the cotton are particularly subject to wind damage; and therefore, the insurance upon the buildings, because of the wind damage, is expensive. Even with the elaborate expensive precautions against fire, there is always the possibility of a loss of enormous amounts of cotton due to fire. Therefore, the insurance expense for the storage is of a substantial nature.
In addition, the amount of cotton produced in a region may vary considerably. In some years a region might produce twice as many bales as other times. e.g., within about 100 miles of Lubbock, Tex., the production in any one year might vary from 1,100,000 bales to 2,500,000 bales. It will be understood that during times of low cotton production and also if there is not a large amount of cotton held over from the prior years, the storage facilities would be very near empty. On the other hand, during years of high production, and particularly if there were an appreciable holdover from the past years, the storage facilities would be overflowing, i.e., often times the warehouses store cotton in the open with no protection from the weather and with only minimum fire protection.
Before this application was filed, the applicant was aware of the following United States patents:
______________________________________ Inventor U.S. Pat. No. ______________________________________ Glover 263,695 Grader 281,490 Lienhard 1,599,826 Hammett 2,596,399 Boiardi 3,906,591 Wright 4,071,138 Cunningham 4,433,733 ______________________________________
Applicant considers these patents, which generally show covers and the like, to be generally of interest to his invention.